


Good Intentions

by SaraJaye



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: Bad Cooking, Cleaning, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Slice of Life, Understanding Mamoru, Usagi meant well, implied sexual relationship, kitchen disasters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-23
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2018-10-09 18:34:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10418523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: It turns out there's more to cooking than just following a recipe. Not that Usagi managed that, either.





	

**Author's Note:**

> _Any, any, Blew up the kitchen making dinner._

Miraculously, the apartment was still standing and she'd managed _not_ to burn everything down. But miracles didn't clean up messes or fix pans that were burned beyond repair, and he was going to be home in half an hour. Barely enough time to clean up the kitchen and try to make it look like nothing happened. Or go out and replace the pan before he noticed the ruined one.

Usagi sighed, grabbing a sponge to wipe up the stains on the walls, only for something to fall on her head. A sniff told her it was burned pepper, uncooked rice, and overly-salty teriyaki sauce...and then, something bigger. A piece of chicken, still raw.

"Ugh!" Usagi flung down the sponge and grabbed the mop. Forget everything else, she had to clean this up before-

"Usako?"

_Oh, no, he's back!_ The mop clattered to the floor and Usagi scrambled around to pick or clean up whatever she could get her hands on. Which wasn't much.

"U-um, I'll just be a second, Mamo-chan!" Not that it mattered, the mess had spread past the kitchen and he would be seeing it almost-

"What the- Usako, what _happened_ in here?! It smells like a teriyaki volcano went off!" Usagi let out a wail, dropping everything she'd managed to grab, and threw her filthy hands up in defeat.

"I wanted to surprise you," she muttered. "I thought it'd be nice if I had dinner waiting for you when you got back from the library." Mamoru walked slowly into the kitchen, as if testing for aftershocks.

"I see." He made a face. "Well...it sure _smells_ like you did your best." She pouted. He'd been so nice letting her hang out as his apartment while her parents were away, even buying extra snacks just for her. All she'd wanted was to return the favor, but now he'd be picking rice off the walls for days.

"Whatever I didn't burn is still raw, the sauce has too much salt, and I think I got it on your couch." She sighed, glaring at a lump of raw chicken. "I followed the recipe just as Mako-chan showed me, I don't know what went wrong!"

He picked a piece of vegetable out of her hair, smiling a little.

"How high did you turn up the stove?"

"All the way?" He sighed, shaking his head as he grabbed a towel and wet it at the sink.

"Usako, cooking is a lot like chemistry," he said. "If you're not careful, it _will_ blow up in your face." He rubbed the towel gently against her head, wiping the sauce from her hair, and Usagi relaxed a little at the touch. "And the best way to do that is to turn the heat up too high or mix the wrong things." At least she hadn't done the second thing, aside from ruining the sauce.

"Sorry, Mamo-chan," she sighed. "I knew it wouldn't be perfect, but I still hoped it'd come out in one piece." Bits of food kept falling from the walls and ceiling, and the smell was almost making her gag. "Also, I...kinda ruined the pan."

"Well, _that's_ no big deal, I was going to get rid of it anyway. You probably noticed the handle was wobbly." Usagi sighed with relief, tossing the pan into the trash. At least that was one less thing to worry about, but once again that didn't clean up the mess or get rid of the smell.

"At least let me clean everything up!" She saw him going for the sponge and reached to stop him. "I made the mess, after all!"

"Trust me, it'll be easier if we work together." He smiled. "Usako, for what it's worth, I truly appreciate your intentions. Your heart was in the right place, you just need to slow down a little." He kissed her forehead, her nose, her cheeks. "Tell you what. We'll clean up this mess, I'll order takeout, and next time we'll cook something together." Usagi brightened almost immediately, flinging her arms around him. Working with him side by side in the kitchen, as if they were married...they would be someday, but this would be _great_ practice.

"You're the best, Mamo-chan!" He chuckled and kissed her briefly on the mouth, smoothing her pigtails.

"We should get your clothes in the wash, too...I have a few things you can borrow." Usagi grinned a little, they both knew this was hardly the first time she'd ever borrowed his clothes. She grabbed a sponge, and they got to work, Usagi humming a little as she scrubbed at the counter.

This was shaping up to be the best mistake she'd ever made.


End file.
